"If I'm going to be completely honest," Elsie hedged for the sixth time in the past half hour, "the decision was one which, in a manner of speaking, was heavily deliberated over until we—I mean I—could come to no other conclusion than to-"
"For crying out loud, woman!" Ulric leaned forward and hissed, "Would you get to the point for once? Enough with your hem-hawing, and just tell us why you were following us?"
Her back stiffened, and she focused on straightening her sleeves. "There's no need to be so rude. I'd built up my courage sufficiently and was about to tell you the reason this time, but now I don't think I shall."
Ulric hung his head and groaned, "I give up."
Elsie clucked her tongue and tilted her head to the side, "Will it make you feel any better to know I borrowed-"
"Stole," Piper coughed. She covered another cough and batted her eyelashes, "It's awfully dusty in here, isn't it?"
Elsie scowled at Piper and forced her lips into a pained smile as she turned to Ulric. "Borrowed a hat from Mr. Bernstorff for you to wear?"
Ulric crossed his left ankle over his right knee, "Sure hope this doesn't mean I'm growing on you." He pointed his thumb at Esmund, "It's him you should be cozying up to."
Esmund rubbed his forehead as he settled back into his seat, "We were getting cozy a little while ago..." Had she been playing him for a fool? What if the kiss they'd shared was an attempt to divert his attention in the hopes of escaping? It was beginning to look that way, and it wasn't as though she had to remain in Buffalo Gulch. He certainly wasn't about to keep her there against her will.
Elsie blushed. "Heavens, why don't we talk about something more appropriate?"
"Why, that's an excellent idea," Ulric purred, "I know just the topic we should discuss."
Piper rolled her eyes, "Alright, I'll tell you so we can put the matter to rest once and for all." She cleared her throat and glanced at Elsie, "We are following you because Elsie had a feeling we should."
Ulric stared at her with a blank expression on his face. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"
Elsie's brow lowered into a delicate frown as she opened and closed her mouth several times but made no sound.
Esmund ran his thumb across the armrest as he studied her. His heart kicked against his ribs as though he'd been jolted back to life by Piper's words. Elsie's gaze flitted around the train car like a hummingbird, barely settling before moving again and never once looking at him. Was she self-conscious about the admission? Is that why she'd danced around the issue for so long?
"Are you saying you would have believed her without question?" Piper asked as she reached over and grabbed Elsie's hand.
Ulric scoffed, "Of course." He stood and stepped into the aisle as he looked around the car, "Now, where's that hat you borrowed for me, Elsie?"
Piper smiled at Elsie and stood, "I'll show you."
Esmund watched her lead Ulric toward the rear of the car and turned his attention back to Elsie, who settled her apprehensive and hopeful gaze upon him. She licked her lips and wrung her hands, "I was so worried you wouldn't believe me."
"Can I ask you something?" he murmured as he leaned forward.
She nodded and scooted to the edge of her seat.
He took her hands in his, "Who found me first—back on the mountain?"
Elsie's brow puckered in a frown, "I-I did."
"How did you find me?"
She shrugged and tipped her face down so he couldn't see her eyes. "I just knew, as though there'd been something connecting us, leading me directly to where you were."
How often had he made fun of Ulric and Gunnar's 'twin moments' over the years? There were far too many to count. For as long as he could remember, he'd been envious of their connection, their ability to sense where one another was, and to know when they were in danger even when they were miles apart.
Elsie had just granted one of his deepest, most secret of all wishes...and she didn't even know it. He squeezed her hands gently and watched her. "Elsie, will you look at me?"
She shook her head.
Esmund scooted to the edge of his seat until their knees touched and leaned in, "Do you remember the question you asked me earlier today?"
Elsie clenched her eyes shut as she turned her face aside. "You want to take back your answer? I knew you didn't mean it—"
"No," Esmund interrupted with such vehemence that her eyes flew wide open, and she stared at him in surprised silence. "I meant it," He gave a surreptitious glance around and saw the eight passengers in the car were closer to the front, facing away from him and not paying them any attention. He studied her for a minute, "What's your answer?"
She rubbed at a stain on her skirt and bit her lip, "To what?"
The guarded way she held her body proved Elsie knew exactly what Esmund was asking. He wasn't going to be dissuaded so easily. "I told you I want you, and I meant it...do you want me?"
Worry creased her brow as she blinked and stared at him, "You mean I get to choose?"
He nodded and held his breath.
She stared down at her lap, began fussing with her skirt, and flicked away imaginary pieces of lint. "You're the first person actually to like me, Esmund. Granted, you hardly know me, so you don't know what you're getting yourself into. You say that because of a single kiss, you are stuck with me no matter what, whereas I have a choice in all this. It's awfully unfair, isn't it?"
"No, it's not unfair, not when it's right." He lifted her chin and held her gaze, "Do you want me—do you accept me?"'
Tears sprang to her eyes, "What if you end up hating me, just like everyone else?"
"I won't."
She closed her eyes, causing the tears to fall, "I don't think I could bear it if you did."
"You won't have to because it isn't going to happen," Esmund wiped the moisture from her cheeks with his thumbs, "I want you, Elsie; I want you to be with me for the rest of my life."
"But I ramble, and I'm painfully awkward in public...and I'm sure I snore."
Esmund bit back a grin, "I know, and it's all part of what I like best about you."
She bit her lip, "Aunt Bernadette would call you a glutton for punishment."
"Well, your Aunt Bernadette can go jump in a lake," Esmund grumbled.
Elsie giggled, "I think you're the most wonderful person I've ever met."
Esmund gave his most dashing, dimpled grin, "Does that mean what I think it means?"
She nodded and smiled, "Yes."
"Yes, what?" he murmured.
Elsie licked her lips and took a deep breath before whispering, "I want you, Esmund. I accept you."
A jolt of power infused his limbs at her words and poured through his veins with overwhelming force. The rumbling purr filled his chest and warmed his blood. They'd only known each other a matter of days, but it didn't matter. The gods had made her for him; his Berserker had recognized it and acted when he'd been too scared of change to do it himself. "You're sure?"
Elsie reached out a trembling hand and caressed his left cheek, smiling when her thumb ran over the location of his dimple. "I've grown quite fond of you over the past few days...and by fond, I mean I think—well, no, actually, I'm quite certain that I-I've fallen in love with you."
Her words rang through his brain like a bell, repeatedly pealing until they echoed within his very soul. Unable to hold back any longer, Esmund crushed his mouth to hers; his fingers threaded through the hair at her nape and pulled her ever closer as their lips fused with demanding hunger.
She clung to him as though she was drowning, and he was the only person capable of rescuing her. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer, lifting her onto his lap with ease as she deepened the kiss. The metallic rumbling of the train faded until the only sound became the echo of their heartbeats. Lips captured and claimed in a lengthy, fervent kiss and caused both of them to gasp for air when they, at last, broke free.
Esmund sighed and gripped her waist, resting his head against her shoulder. "I'll give you fair warning; I'm not letting you out of my sight from here on out."
Elsie laughed and hugged him close, "I-"
Whatever else she'd meant to say was forgotten as the train erupted in a harsh grinding screech of metal and snapping of chains. Everyone started screaming when the car shook and rattled with such violence that most of the luggage stowed overhead fell to the floor and sprang open.
"Hold on to me," Esmund clutched Elsie tight as the entire car lurched sharply to the right and teetered on edge, as though deciding whether to give in to gravity and commit to derailing or settle back down.
Gravity won out, and the car toppled over, rolling free of the tracks and throwing them into the air with surprising force. Elsie cried out as they slammed into the ceiling and floor, nearly breaking apart, but Esmund tightened his hold as each roll tossed them around with wild abandon.
Glass exploded, wood splintered and shattered, and benches tore away from their anchors. After the third roll, a heavy leather case slammed into the back of Esmund's head, dazing him. His hold around Elsie slackened just as the car rolled again and tossed her out of his arms. She screamed as she flew through the air beyond his reach.
The car teetered back and forth before it flopped to its side with a metallic grunt, slamming Esmund down into a bench and shelving. It skidded several feet before coming to an abrupt, shuddering stop on the mountain slope. The jolt caused remnants of shattered glass to rain down with the flurries of snow outside as cold wind whipped through the broken windows.
"Elsie?" Esmund groaned as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. "Elsie? Are you alright?"
The pain in his head was too great, making it impossible to concentrate long enough to hear her reply. Muffled moans filled the air, gaining fervency as the ringing in Esmund's ears subsided. Glass crunched when he staggered to his feet and bumped his head against objects hanging down.
He glanced up and stumbled back, his stomach lurching at what he found. Two dead passengers were draped awkwardly over benches like discarded and misused rag dolls.
With great care, he lowered both bodies to the ground, grateful neither one was someone he knew. He wiped his bloodied hands on his trousers and hurried to help a woman with a large gash across her forehead to her feet. She stared at him, dazed, and murmured her thanks before stumbling away.
No one else at the rear appeared to need immediate help, so he turned and moved a broken bench out of his way, only to come face to face with a dead, older man. Partially hidden and wedged between benches, the only part of him visible was his bruised face. Esmund freed the body and carried it over to where the other two corpses rested before continuing on his search in a never-ending cycle of climbing over piles of wreckage and helping the passengers he found alive.
He grew more alarmed when he'd covered all but the last ten feet of the train, and there was still no sign of Elsie. His heart thundered, and his blood ran cold as a terrorizing thought snaked its way forward. What if she'd been thrown from the train? She could be lying dead somewhere outside in the snow. He closed his eyes, took a calming breath, and knew exactly where to go.
In his haste, he stumbled and tripped, throwing debris from his path until he found her pinned from the chest down against the front of the car by a section of benches and twisted shelving. She grumbled and muttered under her breath, trying to free her left arm stuck in a crack between seats and what would have been the right corner of the ceiling.
She glanced up, her eyes wide with panic, and gasped, "Esmund, no! Stay back; it isn't safe down here."
A loud popping-splintering stopped Esmund in his tracks. The survivors behind him screamed as the damaged car shifted, slid several feet, and jerked to a stop once more. He glanced up through the broken windows but saw nothing except a star-speckled night sky. Creaks and moans erupted with each step he took toward her until only six feet separated them. "I'll have you free in a minute, Elsie; just hold on."
He clenched his jaw and took another step, raising his arms to balance his weight when the train moaned and shifted beneath him. How was he going to save Elsie without killing everyone else in the process?
Did he dare continue and hope the train held its current unsteady position? He stared at her and took a deep breath as he stepped over the broken window and carefully placed his foot upon the frame. A terrifying, low groan filled the air as the train shifted again, throwing Esmund to his knees.
Elsie held perfectly still, fear written clearly upon her face, "Please don't come any closer; it's too dangerous." She swallowed and licked her lips, "You need to get everyone else to safety...I'll be all right."
Esmund shook his head and crawled forward, "I'm not leaving you."
"I've been in worse situations than this, and besides, you don't have a choice," She winced and pushed against the bench, pinning her down, but it didn't move. A whimper escaped her when a hollow groan filled the air, and the car slid, shifting the load more firmly against her. The passengers screamed and shuffled toward the rear of the car, causing the weakened structure to pop and shudder in complaint.
"Everyone stay put!" Esmund wiped sweat out of his eyes as he took an involuntary step back to gain his balance and muttered a curse. "If we want to get out of this alive, we must remain calm." Deep in his gut, he knew there was no way out of this precarious situation that didn't endanger someone. Any attempt to save Elsie would cause the car to plummet further, perhaps killing them all in the process.
But how could he guarantee attempting to rescue the others wouldn't prove just as disastrous? Did he dare risk it? Was he willing to sacrifice everyone to save her?